The Speech of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan at the First Anniversary of the EU mission in Armenia

21 / 02 / 2024

Dear Mr. Tomat,

Dear legislators and representatives of the executive power,

Diplomats,

Dear guests,

Today, we celebrate one year of deployment of the EU civilian mission in Armenia, on which occasion I congratulate all of us. The past year has been an essential phase for the mission, during which several issues related to the mission's locations, staffing, and legal basis for operations have been resolved, and significant progress has been made. I can confidently state that during this period, we have also improved cooperation between the Mission and RA departments and formed several practical communication formats.

The mission was deployed in Armenia during a difficult period for us and performed the essential function of observing the internationally recognised border between Armenia and Azerbaijan along the entire length. We assess that the mission contributes to the region's stability and is essential to ensuring transparency regarding current events. We consider unjustified criticism of the mission from various countries unacceptable and support the mission to fulfil its mandate in full.

We are grateful to more than two dozen EU member states, the leadership of Brussels and, of course, the mission staff for contributing to this vital mission. We hope and expect that we will soon see the representatives of all EU member states in the mission. We welcome Canada's participation and Norway's willingness to join the mission.

At the same time, we do not want to be only a security consumer. In that context, RA has informed Brussels that it is ready to contribute to the civilian missions of the EU's common security and defence policy.

Dear attendees,

In the last two years, RA-EU relations have been intensively expanding. If previously the agenda with the EU was formed mainly around economic cooperation and institutional reforms, today we can record that RA-EU cooperation has expanded and included security as an important area of collaboration. The EU and its member states are essential to Armenia's security and economic diversification.

I would also like to note that the mission is one of the important links of cooperation with the EU. It raised Yerevan-Brussels relations to a new level and, as we often mention, positively impacted the formation of the Armenian public's opinion about the EU. Of course, the mission's mandate will not change public opinion about the EU. Still, the mission formed a favourable opinion of the EU in the public through its daily work, visiting communities and visible activities. We share the same democratic values with the European Union, and we are happy to note that the partnership based on shared values has also included the security sphere.

Once again, I congratulate all of you and wish you peace and success in our joint endeavours.

Thank you."